First Hug
by Oreganofox
Summary: This is based on a tumblr post about what Rick and Michonne's first hug would be like. Takes place during season 4.


Waking up on this morning was different; even though Michonne made it her mission to find the governor and end his life permanently she had a man by her side too see things from a different prospective. Her relationship with Rick has been growing steadily for the past seven months. What started out as a simple friendship between two people soon opened a door to romance; a feeling she'd never thought she would never experience again. Michonne went outside to groom her horse when Rick approached her.

"Going out today" He picked some fruits and vegetables from the garden.

"Yeah" She put a saddle on the horse.

"You know how I feel about that. You're asking death to come knocking on your door"

"I'll deal with that call when it comes to me" She walked closer to him "We'll never be safe until he's dead" She walked the horse to the front of the gates. After she fed the horse she heard footsteps getting closer.

"Hey" When she turned around Rick stood in front of her, holding up a peach. She stepped closer to him and took a bite out of it. He brought the peach to his mouth and bit the same part she did, giving her a subtle wink.

As she prepared to leave gun shots and screams caught her attention; she had to turn back. Getting off the horse she signaled for someone to open the gates, luckily Carl got there in time. Suddenly zombies started coming from behind the horse. In a split second she found herself trying to fight off two zombies, one of the zombies latched onto her dreads causing her to lose her balance. Kicking one of them in them in the stomach she flipped the other one onto the spikes, spraining her foot in the process. Maggie ran out to her and shot the zombie in the head.

"Michonne!" He shouted, running towards her. He hoisted her up over his shoulders and grabbed her sword off the ground.

"I'm gonna go back into the cell block, you got her?" Maggie panicked.

"Yeah, just go" He said in a frustrated tone. She ran back towards the chaos. He carried Michonne back to her cell so she could recover.

"What happened?" Rick laid her down on the cell bed.

"Walkers got in somehow" They both heard rapid gunfire and screaming.

"Stay here, I'll be right back" He ran out of her cell. Sitting on the cell bed with her foot propped up she started feeling a light burning sensation in her chest. She put her hand over her chest as the feeling became more intense. Once he madness died down Beth came into her cell to bandage up her foot. She noticed how hard she was clenching her fist on the bed and asked if she was hurting her. Michonne told her it was just a little chest pain, but lied about how intense the pain was.

Everyone in the group learned about an unknown virus. No one knew the cure or the cause of it, leaving many unanswered questions. Later on that day Rick finished locking down the prison and checking to make sure everyone was okay when he heard Michonne frantically coughing. As it became more violent he walked into her cell block to check on her. He saw her hunched over the bed completely drenched in sweat.

"You alright?" She stuck her hand out, gesturing him to stay where he was.

"Don't come in here" She coughed and struggled to catch her breath. When she turned her head directly into the path of light Rick seen her nose bleeding and her flushed skin.

"I have it" Rick's heart sank to his chest. He didn't want to come to the realization that he could lose her at any given moment. All he thought about was getting her urgent care.

XXX

Over the next couple of days Michonne was kept in the isolation block with the rest of the sick people. Hershel made frequent visits to her cell to either clean her up or share some of his special tea. Every time Rick would visit her condition seemed to get worse. When he came back from a supply run Hershel pulled him aside to inform him about her condition.

"How is she?" Hershel took a deep breath to try and prepare himself to give him some unsettling news.

"Umm, she hasn't been improving. She's been throwing up more blood and has become very weak" Rick put his hand over his face in fear that she was slowly dying. He tried to choke back his tears but his eyes wouldn't let him.

"Can I see her?" Hershel could tell he was exhausted. He didn't want to let him close to her but he wasn't sure if she would recover at all.

"Yeah, follow me" He handed him a mask. Once he opened the cell door he seen her lifeless body lying cold in the bed. Her skin was completely pale and her breathing shallow. Despite Hershel's warning about getting sick he didn't care anymore; he would rather die with her than for her to die alone. After removing his mask he kneeled down next to her and caressed her face; which was hot to the touch.

"You, Carl and Judith, are the reason why I'm still alive" He took a rag and gently wiped her mouth off.

"These last seven months..." A lump formed in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to say anything else cause he couldn't grasp that this would be the final minutes he spends with her.

"Rick" Hershel wanted to get him out of there right way so he wouldn't have to witness her death. He planted a soft kiss on her plumped lips.

"If it's not too late" He left out of her cell feeling broken because he couldn't do anything to save her. All he could do is hope that she would pull through.

 _Two hours later..._

A weakened Michonne slowly opened her eyes, still feeling dizzy. She held her right hand up to try stabilizing her vision. Once the two images became one she rotated her hand and seen a shiny gold band on her ring finger. She feared this was the last time she would open her eyes, so she needed to find Rick. Gathering the little strength she stood up and grabbed onto the cell bars to keep her balance.

A depressed Rick cleaned up the leftover blood spatter from a walker he killed. Before he exited he looked at the bullet mark left in the wall, thinking about how he would bring himself to shoot the love of his life if she turned. As a tear ran down his face he suddenly felt something light wrap around his waist. He looked down and seen someone's pale hands.

"M-Michonne" He'd seen the gold ring on her finger but wasn't sure if she turned yet. Before he had the chance to think about the next move she started carefully turned around and embraced her gently. She relaxed her head in his chest to gather up the last of her energy to speak. He heard her mumble against his chest.

"What did you say?" He kept himself from crying. She looked up at him and tried hugging him tighter but she was too weak.

"I'll... Marry you" Her brown eyes were the only thing left with life. She could slowly feel her legs giving out. Before she collapsed to the floor from exhaustion he picked her up and carried her back to her cell.

Over the next few weeks Michonne's condition seemed to be slowly improving, thanks to the help of her new fiancé. He spent the day helping her gain her strength back by doing simple walking exercises. On this night Rick came into her cell to do his usual check up on her. Before he walked out she asked if he would stay with her. He planted a soft kiss on her lips and agreed. She had to lay on top of him since there was limited space on the cell bed. But to him he enjoyed being this close to his woman.

XXX

 **What do you think? Who wants to see the Rick and Michonne prison wedding?**


End file.
